Editor’s Letter

It is with great pride that I begin my second year as Chairman of this association, and I thank all of you for having the confidence to bestow this honour upon me once again.

Being so soon after the AGM, my report for this Bulletin issue is very brief, but I trust it will be sufficient to keep you up to date with what is happening within the organisation.

Our first council meeting turned out to be a tumultuous affair, which regretfully resulted in the resignation of one of our newly elected Council members, Jeannie O'Beirne! It is difficult to explain in a few words the course of events which led to her resignation, but the issue centred on a possibility of a conflict of interest in Jeannie serving with the Training Committee. For my part, I possibly didn't handle the meeting or situation very well, being wrong-footed by the vociferous content of some of the debate! Please, in reading this account, do not consider for one second that Jeannie acted improperly in any way or that her personal or professional integrity should be questioned. The whole situation is regrettable, but I am pleased to say that I have spoken with Jeannie at length and we both feel confident that valuable lessons can be learnt from such situations. Jeannie has been encouraged to reconsider her decision to resign from Council, although for reasons of her own feels disinclined to do so.

I feel sure you will all join me in welcoming our other newly elected council member, Geoff Oldham, who is to work with the Technical Committee. Our new honorary secretary Paul Craven takes over from Andy Berry who has now relieved Rob Tunnicliff as Honorary Editor. I look forward to working closely with all of my council colleagues over the coming months.

Council has many plans for the coming year, not the least of which is to revisit the aims and objectives of the APEA. Whilst generally we have confidence that the original aims still hold good, we feel that it may be necessary to carry out a little "tweaking" in order to fully satisfy the needs of the wider membership. We are all aware of our obligations as an industry to protect the environment, and it is in areas like this where we feel some changes may be necessary. If your branch (or you as an individual member) feels there are issues which should be addressed, please let us know - we always want fresh ideas.

For those of you who do not adapt easily to change, I would like to add the comforting note that it is not the intention of council to mess with the association to any great extent, but to recognise where changes are required and if possible effect those changes. After all, it has only been by being adaptable that the APEA has survived into the 21st Century, and if we want to remain at the forefront of our industry we must retain the flexibility to react to a changing world.

At a recent Events Committee meeting options for the events programme for the coming year were discussed. Whilst no final agreement was reached the committee were united in their opinion that it would be foolhardy, and tantamount to committing financial Hari-Kari to try and stage a full blown exhibition such as those previously held at Telford, London & Birmingham. What did find favour amongst most was the concept of holding the APEA Annual Dinner, which would be supported by a lively and informative conference programme. The possibility of inviting manufacturers and suppliers to support the event with a relatively low key exhibition was also discussed. Those of you who can remember the distant days when we met at Dunstable will be familiar with the concept! As you read this Jane is looking into suitable venues for the event (in the Midlands you'll doubtless be pleased to know)! Future Bulletin editions will bring you more news as our plans unfold.

Generally, Council was pleased with the AGM and felt that the venue was good and the speakers interesting and informative. On behalf of the Council I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the speakers for giving their time freely in preparing and presenting their excellent material. We understand that some visitors felt that the buffet luncheon was a little overpriced and somewhat sparse! Please be assured that we do listen to our members and will try and feed you all a little heartier next year!

Under Brian Baker's chairmanship, the Training Committee continues to develop and expand its activities, with the courses offered being well structured, extremely popular and profitable. Jane Mardell has stepped in to help Brian with the abundance of administration and groundwork which goes to make each course run smoothly and efficiently. I am pleased to report that Jane is undertaking this new task with her usual calm efficiency, and I am confident that the association can only benefit from her efforts.

It is interesting to note that we are now receiving enquiries from overseas countries to provide bespoke training courses. This must be a clear indication that the APEA is truly an international organisation with a reputation for offering high quality training and support within this specialised industry.

Before closing, I would just like to mention our lifeblood - the branches! Some of our branches are extremely successful, holding regular meetings and attracting lively and interesting speakers, whilst others appear to be struggling - in some cases to maintain their very existence! I would like to ask you all to support your local branch and make a point of attending meetings. Not only does active participation at branch level allow us to understand and discuss developing industry trends but it also provides us with the opportunity to meet with friends and colleagues from within the industry. Please find out when your next branch meeting is, note it in your diary and make sure you attend - I am sure you will find it a worthwhile and enjoyable experience.

I conclusion, I would like to thank you all once again for your support and say how much I look forward to working with you all in the months to come.

Tony Jenner

It’s been a busy time since my last report with the AGM in May and the Yearbook deadline looming. I have also recently taken on some additional responsibilities for the APEA related to Training and I have detailed these below.

It was good to meet many of you at the recent AGM in May and you will find a full report of the AGM in this issue of The Bulletin.

Membership

To date there are 971 APEAmembers with June being a busy few months with 33 new members joining during April, May and June. You can find details of new members below.

I would like to try and update the membership database with everyone’s email address to aid better communication. Please can you email me with your details to admin@apea.org.uk. In the long term this should help save money for the association which can be used for your benefit.

Should you also have any other changes to your contact details please email me on admin@apea.org.uk.This will also ensure that your correspondence gets delivered to the correct address.

AGM

The APEAAGM was held on 12th May at the Marriott in Northampton and was well attended with around 90 people. It was good to put faces to names and I hope you all enjoyed the event.

We hope to hold next year’s AGM around the same time of year and hopefully at Northampton again, as this appeared to be a

New APEAMembers

Detailed below are new members that have recently joined the APEA.

April 2003

Denise Amesbury 12 Woodpecker Drive Packmoor Stoke on Trent Staffs ST7 4GJ

Grame Warnell 68 Hartland Avenue Tattenhoe Milton Keynes Bucks MK4 3BW

Maxine Godfrey Coteba Limited 26-28 Hammersmith Grove London W6 7HA

Christopher Kim Williams 5 East Street Uffculme Devon EX14 3AL

Website

Please let me know if you have any interesting news items that you would like to include on the site. As I have mentioned in previous issues these can be submitted directly to the website from the ‘News’ page which then come through to me for authorisation.

Bulletin

Thank you to all of you that have contributed to this issue of The Bulletin.

Since the AGM a new Editor has been appointed, for The Bulletin, Andy Berry from the London Fire Brigade, I’m sure he would appreciate your support in his new role. Please send through any news items or articles for the December issue to Andy and he will forward them onto me if they are suitable. His contact details are listed on page 3 of this issue.

As usual any advertising issues should be sent to me.

Yearbook

The Yearbook is progressing well and should be at the printers very soon. Most of the information has now been updated and I am just waiting on a few things before I can finalise the artwork.

Thank you to all of you that placed advertising for 2004, this support goes along way to helping us produce this useful guide each year.

The Yearbook should be sent out early November this year, but, if possible, I will try and make it earlier, as I know alot of you are keen to receive it in October.

Training

As with the last issue there is a booking form enclosed with this issue of The Bulletin to make it easier for those of you interested in booking APEATraining Courses. Course dates are listed on page 59.

Since my last report I have taken on responsibility for coordinating the bookings for the APEAtraining courses, so please call me with any queries or booking requirements. Brian Baker will still design and schedule the courses but has handed over the administration side to me, hopefully now he will be able to focus more time on his full-time job!

If you need to check the training course dates at any time, these are detailed on our website www.apea.org.uk on the Training page.

General Assistance

Finally if any of you need any assistance with industry matters, please do not hesitate to contact me on 01799 502929 and I will endeavor to help.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Jane

James Hall & Co (Southport) Ltd 88/91 Blackpool Road Ribbleton Preston Lancs PR2 6DY

Alexander Klyonov. Henriques & Henriques S.A. Apartado 3, 2436-909 Caxarias, Ourem, Portugal

Patrick Smith 26 Lowestoft Road Gorleston Great Yarmouth Norfolk NR31 6LY

Alan Hickinbotham West Midlands Fire Service Hay Mills Fire Safety Service Speedwell Road Hay Mills Birmingham B25 8HH

Z. Pezelja Zavisa Klobas TTS d.o.o. 16Kostrena HR-51221, Croatia

May 2003

Howell Griffiths Ambisol Signage & Lighting Ltd Unit C Goodridge Avenue Gloucester GL2 5AE Derek Hoskins 2 Dalecote Avenue Solihull B92 9QR

Andrew Leaper 10 Meadowlands Scholes, Cleckheaton West Yorkshire BD19 6HB Gerry McCann 10 Parkmore Road Magherafelt Derry BT45 6PF

John McMail 10 Maple Road Abronhill Cumbernauld Glasgow G67 3NH

David Duckworth DjayD Consultancy 3 Hawridge Lane Bellingdon Chesham Buckinghamshire HP5 2XX